This is the second set of adventures in the world of Garion, Belgarath & Polgara, but set eleven years after the climax of 'Enchanters End Game'.
Recognising the author's name whilst I was wandering around a book shop, something I'm prone to do if I see one and I have a few minutes to spare, I picked up the book, read the back cover and then trotted off to the cashier and purchased it.
Having read the Belgariad I was familiar with all the main characters in this new series, which always makes it easier to get into a book and enjoy the story.
As with the Belgariad, the writing style is a joy to read, it is very engaging with an interesting plot laced throughout with a nice sprinkling of humour and is well-paced.
Garion has slain the evil God Torak and been crowned King of Riva. The Prophecy was fulfilled—or so it seemed. While the strange child Errand was growing up in the Vale of Aldur with Polgara and Durnik, showing only occasional flashes of inexplicable knowledge and power, Garion was learning to rule and to be the husband of his fiery little Queen Ce’Nedra. Eleven years passed.
Then suddenly the Voice of Prophecy cried out a warning: “Beware Zandramas!” Not even Belgarath the Sorcerer knew who or what Zandramas was. But Garion discovered hints in a previously obscured part of the Mrin Codex. Worse, he learned that the Dark Prophecy was still waging its ancient struggle against the Prophecy of Light. Again, great evil was brewing in the East. And again, Garion found himself a pawn, caught between the two ancient Prophecies, with the fate of the world somehow resting on him.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
8th August 1987Retail Cost
£2.95Number of Pages
429Year Read
1987Garion and Ce'nedra continue the quest begun in Guardians of the West. In their party travel the immortal Belgarath the Sorcerer, his daughter Polgara the Sorceress, and the little Drasnian, Silk.
Garion knows that it is the mysterious figure Zandramas who is responsible for the abduction of his infant son, and he and his companions journey many miles and encounter many strange beings in their search for him.
Their way leads through the foul swamps of Nyissa, ruled over by the Snake-Queen, and on into the dark kingdom of the Murgos, where human sacrifices are still made to the dead god Torak. Further on, however, even beyond those forbidding lands, they must face the ultimate danger - not only to themselves but to all mankind...
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
24th May 1989Retail Cost
£3.99Number of Pages
418Year Read
1989Zandramas had stolen King Garion's infant son and fled to use the child in some ritual that would make the Dark Destiny supreme. Garion and his friends had followed, but now they were captives of Zakath, Emperor of Mallorea, who, while friendly, stubbornly refused to let them leave.
Meanwhile, a horde of demons was ravaging the cities through which they must travel. Zandramas was escaping further toward her goal. And the Seeress of Kell revealed that they must be at the ancient palace of Ashaba within a matter of days or Zandramas would win by default. Then a horrible, fatal plague struck the city of Mal Zeth. closing it against all traffic in or out.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
30th November 1989Retail Cost
£3.99Number of Pages
384Year Read
1989Troubles and delays continued to mount as Garion, Belgarath, Polgara, and the company pursued Zandramas across the known world. Possessed by the Dark Destiny, she had stolen Garion's infant son for a ritual that would destroy all that men valued.
She was always one step ahead, taunting and spying on them, flying over in the form of a great dragon. Her armies, led by a Demon Lord, threatened on one side; on the other were the forces of Emperor Zakath, seeking to capture them.
Somehow, as the Seeress of Kell had warned, they had to be at the Place Which Is No More for the ritual at the same time as Zandramas, or face disaster. But where that might be they still had no clue.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
7th December 1990Retail Cost
£4.99Number of Pages
371Year Read
1990The final choice: darkness or light
The last clue has been found. It will lead Garion and his friends to the 'Place Which Is No More'. Zandramas awaits him there...and with him is Garion's son.
Armed only with his ancestral sword Garion must fight his way past dragons and demons to meet Zandramas and fulfil his destiny. But the prophecies require a great sacrifice.
An impossible choice: save the world - or the person you love
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
15th August 1992Retail Cost
£4.99Number of Pages
432Year Read
1992Join David and Leigh Eddings on a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of the extensive background materials they compiled before beginning the masterpiece of epic fantasy unforgettably set down in The Belgariad and The Malloreon and their two companion volumes, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress.
Our tour stretches from the wealthy Empire of Tolnedra to the remote Isle of the Winds, from the mysterious mountains of Ulgoland to the forbidding reaches of darkest Mallorea. Along the way, you will meet old friends and enemies alike. Rare volumes will be opened to your eyes. Sacred holy books in which you may read the secrets of the Gods themselves and of their prophets. Scholarly histories of the rise and fall of empires from the Imperial Library at Tol Honeth. The profound mysteries of the Malloreon Gospels. THE RIVAN CODEX will enrich your understanding of all that has gone before . . . and whet your appetite for more spectacular adventures from this talented team.
Format
HardbackDate Acquired
23rd June 1999Retail Cost
£12.99Number of Pages
394Year Read
1999